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FeaturesAgentOS WorkUpdated March 12, 2026

Workday API Integration Adapter

Workday API Integration Adapter

The Workday API Integration Adapter allows you to connect the platform to an existing Workday tenant. It supports both REST and SOAP communication patterns, giving you access to batch data extraction as well as real-time operational calls.

Overview

CapabilityProtocolUse Case
OAuth2 AuthenticationRESTSecure tenant authentication
Report-as-a-Service (RaaS)RESTBulk / scheduled data extraction
Workday Web Services (WWS)SOAPReal-time read/write operations

Authentication

The adapter authenticates with your Workday tenant using OAuth2. You must register an API client in your Workday tenant and supply the resulting credentials to the platform.

Required credentials

  • Client ID — Issued by Workday when you register an API client.
  • Client Secret — Issued alongside the Client ID.
  • Token Endpoint URL — The Workday authorization server token endpoint for your tenant (e.g. https://<your-tenant>.workday.com/oauth2/<tenant>/token).
  • Tenant URL — The base URL of your Workday tenant.

The adapter handles token acquisition, caching, and automatic refresh; you do not need to manage access tokens manually.

Report-as-a-Service (RaaS)

RaaS lets you extract data from Workday by executing pre-built or custom reports exposed as web services.

How it works

  1. A Custom Report is created and shared as a web service in Workday.
  2. The adapter calls the report endpoint over REST, authenticating with the OAuth2 token.
  3. The response (JSON or XML) is parsed and ingested into the platform's data pipeline.

Typical use cases

  • Syncing headcount and worker records
  • Extracting payroll and compensation data
  • Pulling organisational hierarchy snapshots
  • Scheduled financial data imports

RaaS endpoint pattern

GET https://<tenant>.workday.com/ccx/service/customreport2/<tenant>/<owner>/<report-name>?format=json
Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

Workday Web Services (WWS)

WWS provides SOAP-based APIs for real-time operations against your Workday tenant. The adapter uses these for operations that require immediate consistency rather than batch extraction.

How it works

  1. The adapter constructs a SOAP request using the appropriate WWS operation and version.
  2. The request is authenticated using the OAuth2 bearer token embedded in the SOAP header.
  3. The response is parsed and made available to the platform immediately.

Typical use cases

  • Looking up or updating worker records in real time
  • Reading or writing compensation and benefits data
  • Querying organisational structures on demand
  • Triggering HR business processes

Example SOAP request structure

<env:Envelope xmlns:env="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/"
              xmlns:wd="urn:com.workday/bsvc">
  <env:Header>
    <wsse:Security xmlns:wsse="http://docs.oasis-open.org/wss/2004/01/oasis-200401-wss-wssecurity-secext-1.0.xsd">
      <wsse:UsernameToken>
        <wsse:Username>Bearer</wsse:Username>
        <wsse:Password Type="...#PasswordText"><ACCESS_TOKEN></wsse:Password>
      </wsse:UsernameToken>
    </wsse:Security>
  </env:Header>
  <env:Body>
    <!-- WWS operation goes here -->
  </env:Body>
</env:Envelope>

Prerequisites

  • An active Workday tenant with an ISU (Integration System User) or equivalent API-enabled user account.
  • A registered API client in Workday > Edit API Client with the relevant functional areas granted.
  • The OAuth2 credentials and tenant URL available at configuration time.
  • Reports intended for RaaS must be shared as web services in Workday before the adapter can access them.

Limitations

  • The adapter connects to an existing Workday tenant; it does not provision or manage Workday tenants.
  • API version support follows Workday's release cadence. Ensure your Workday tenant is on a supported WWS API version.
  • RaaS report output format must be set to JSON or XML; other formats are not supported by the ingestion pipeline.

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